5 Myths of Pain Part 2
Last week we talked about the first two myths of pain. Today I'm going to speak to three more.
Myth 3 - If Pain Lasts for a While, It Means It Will be Here Forever
It's ironic, but the mind has a short memory. You can be healthy for forty or fifty years, have one physical challenge that lasts a few weeks, months, or maybe even several years, and the mind concedes that it will be like this for the rest of your life. That is not necessarily true but the mind which magnifies your experiences can make it feel like that.
Having pain over a period of time is certainly taxing and wearing, but that doesn't mean it's permanent.
Chronic muscular pain, for instance, can be a result of adaptive patterns that change the lines of force from going through the correct patterns of movement to putting that load on areas that are not designed to carry it. Restore normal function and pain is alleviated.
Myth 4 - You'll Just Have to Learn to Live with the Pain
Unfortunately, this is another constant message that is perpetuated. When allopathic medicine which segments things into physiological pieces, cannot identify or treat a condition, too often, a patient is told: "there's nothing we can do, you'll just have to learn to live with it."
For someone who places all their trust in a medical professional's opinion, that is not only a life (or death) sentence but it also the beginning of resignation to no other possibility for another outcome.
Let me state that there are certain neurological conditions which interrupt or alter normal communication of the nervous system and cause constant pain signals. I am not addressing them here.
I'm offering that there may be other solutions beyond the scope of allopathic medicine that can positively influence and restore the body/mind balance and peace for a wide variety of pain experiences.
Myth 5 - If Tests Show No Physical Cause Then "Nothing" is Wrong and, You Must Just Be Crazy.
This myth relies on only one type of measurement as the sum of all possibilities. To make matters worse, it then makes the person experiencing the issue question their sanity when that measurement cannot supply an answer.
You are not just a physical body. A reductionist method of drawing conclusions based only on physiological results leaves out the other two aspects that influence how the body responds.
Your thoughts and your emotions contribute as much to the environment in which your cells function as what you ingest or external causes.
To doubt what you intuitively know is true because one method of measurement does not provide a probable answer does not mean there isn't one. It doesn't mean you're crazy. It offers the opportunity to look for an answer outside of that paradigm.
The more you can start to question the underlying automatic assumptions about pain the more options outside those assumptions start to appear.
Keep your awareness open and listen to what assumptions play in your mind on a regular basis that may be limiting your options to be pain free.
My mission with this blog is to provide information that supports holistic pain relief and self-care that encompasses all of who you are - body, mind, and Spirit.
About the Author: Kathleen Gramzay
Kathleen Gramzay, BCTMB is Body/Mind Performance Expert, 20-yr Board Certified Massage Therapist, and Developer of Kinessage® Self Care and Mindful Resilience. Her mission is to empower people to release their stress, chronic tension & pain to live more joyful, productive and healthy lives. If you would like to learn more about Kinessage® Self-Care or the Mindful Resilience programs, contact
Kathleen
